Taking Flight
by bubblygal92
Summary: Gallifrey OT4 Magic AU as a Secret Santa Gift for irving-braxiatel on Tumblr


**A/N This is a secret santa gift exchange for irving-braxiatel. I hope you like it.**

 **Also, I borrowed some elements from RWBY for the initiation ceremony.**

* * *

 **Taking Flight**

The Patchewollock Academy for Magic had its fair share of oddities. Their Headmistress, for one, was a firm believer of first impressions. Which meant that the first years were initiated in a rather unusual way. Unlike most magic schools, students were divided into teams of four, rather than sorted into houses or groups. The team was meant to be a symbol, a way of training mages to learn and grow together, as opposed to dividing them based on their abilities.

"The greatest lessons are taught by our differences," proclaimed their Headmistress as the students gathered near the mountains for their initiation.

"You will first find a partner," explained the deputy Headmaster. "The two of you will then retrieve an artefact from the top of the mountain. The remaining two members of your team will be determined by those artefacts."

"Your partner has to be someone that you can work well with," said the Headmistress, looking around at the initiates gravely. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with, upon reaching the schlenk blossom tree halfway up the mountain, will be your partner for the rest of your time at this Academy."

There were more than a few murmurs and shocked looks at that, but a loud bell clanged in the air, telling the initiates that the race had begun.

* * *

Romana wasted no time in murmuring a levitation spell as soon as the bell had sounded. She felt herself lifted up a foot off the ground, before she zoomed forward up the mountain. Moving through the air with the grace of a ballerina and her blonde hair in a braid flowing behind her, she traversed over her fellow initiates' head with ease, trying very hard not to smile at how freeing it was to move through the cold air as easily as she could swim through Lake Abydos back home.

The thought of home diminished her high spirits slightly, but she was determined to make a fresh start. No one at Patchewollock knew about her. To them, she was just like anyone else. No expectations, no envy, and most importantly, no one to place her on a pedestal.

She spotted the schlenk blossom tree halfway up the mountain and prepared to land. A fresh start, indeed.

* * *

Irving Braxiatel watched the blonde woman zoom through the air ahead of everyone. He had seen her when he had arrived at Patchewollock, but he had chosen to keep to himself until he'd had a measure of his peers. While the initiates had mingled before the initiation, he had chosen to compose a letter back to his brother, who was no doubt eager to attend Patchewollock himself one day.

When the bell sounded, he conjured up a vortisaur with a spell and climbed up on its back with ease. Vortisaur riding had always been his brother's favourite sport, but Braxiatel would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy it himself. The vortisaur flew easily at his direction, but Braxiatel was unhurried in his actions, choosing to take his time in reaching the schlenk blossom tree.

No matter what the Headmistress said, he would never leave his future in the hands of something as fickle as luck.

* * *

Narvin wanted to be anywhere but here. He had been poised to be an apprentice for Glower, one of the most prestigious mages in the land, until a grave mistake in Glower's conjuring had led to his death, as well as the destruction of a small village where they had been performing magic. The incident had been covered up, and Narvin had been ordered to go to Patchewollock to keep him under the radar, so to speak. Narvin knew what nobody said; he was being kept under the eye of those in charge of the Academy to make sure that he never spoke of what had happened in his past.

Despite his reluctance to be there, he was determined to excel. No one could ever accuse him of being anything but the best in whatever he was doing, even if what he was doing was something he did not want to do in the first place. He had been disdainful of practically everyone he had met thus far, but none had rubbed him the wrong way like Irving Braxiatel. Narvin had seen the keen way that Braxiatel watched everyone around them, and the air of superiority that he seemed to project as if he were privy to something no one else knew. Narvin hated feeling left out of the loop, which only made it worse.

When Braxiatel conjured up a vortisaur, Narvin visibly rolled his eyes. Unlike the elaborate display, Narvin had chosen the more standard practice of raising the fallen snow on the ground into a staircase that led to the schlenk blossom tree. He had then proceeded to calmly walk up the stairs, making sure that they melted behind him so his competitors could not take advantage.

He had reached the schlenk blossom tree and was brushing off frost from his shoulder when he heard the loud cry of the vortisaur as it landed right next to him before dissipating in a puff of smoke. Narvin nearly groaned in dismay as Braxiatel walked out through the smoke and met his gaze with a slight quirk of his lips.

* * *

Leela of Sevateem was the oddity of the bunch, anyone could tell. Unlike the elaborate robes, polished staffs and wands belonging to all the other initiates, she was dressed in what they had considered to be rags. There had been more than a few giggles and whispers, but she had seemed unperturbed by them.

When the question had come up of who had trained at which prestigious school before coming to the Academy, she had declared proudly that she had been raised in the wasteland and learned her magic from the mages who had left civilisation behind. Cruel laughter had followed her statement, but far from upsetting her, she had acquired a steely, determined glint in her unusually blue eyes.

At the initiation while her peers conjured creatures that could fly, or performed levitation charms, she ran to the mountain and began climbing it without using any magic. There were a few mutterings from the crowd, but she was swift in her ascent as she climbed the mountain with the grace of a lion. She was single-mindedly focused on the steep mountain, her body climbing, running, and jumping as needed, borne out of years of instinct.

She was only starting to get out of breath when she reached the schlenk blossom tree. She spotted one of the initiates flying on a winged creature above her head, but he was too far away for her to meet his gaze. She decided to ignore him and glanced down to where another initiate was walking up the mountain on stairs made of snow. He was still a fair way down, so Leela walked over to the tree where a lone blonde was waiting. Leela had seen her fly ahead of everyone else, so she was unsurprised that she was already there. She looked up when she heard Leela walk up, and a hesitant smile graced her face.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello," repeated Leela, looking just a little wary.

"I'm Romana," she said.

"Leela," she offered, still a bit wary.

"I know," said Romana. "You grew up in the wasteland, didn't you?"

"I did," said Leela, her voice going just a touch cooler.

"Excellent," said Romana. "Your knowledge of the outdoors will help us on the remainder of our journey up the mountain."

Leela looked slightly confused. "Couldn't you just fly?" she asked.

Romana shook her head. "The winds are too strong up here," she said. "I could attempt a shield spell but it will tire me out before I reach our destination. I believe an important aspect of having a partner is to pool our skills for a quick and effective solution."

Leela's demeanour warmed a little as she nodded. "Alright then," she said. "I shall guide our way up the mountain."

"Perfect," said Romana. "And I shall perform a shield charm to keep us from feeling the temperature too much. Team work."

"Team work," nodded Leela, and gave her a small smile as the two women began their journey up the mountain.

* * *

"Not you," groaned Narvin.

Braxiatel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sorry, would you like to wait for one of those tortoises to catch up?" he asked, nodding towards the group of initiates who were yet to reach the schlenk blossom tree.

"I am tempted to do just that," said Narvin, looking up to where two of their peers had already formed a pair and were making their way up the mountain.

Braxiatel followed his gaze before looking back at him. "You could stay here and count the snowflakes if you want," he said. "But I am heading up the mountain. With or without you."

Narvin growled under his breath but fell into step with him as they began their climb. "We could forge our own path instead of following the savage," he said.

"Whatever for?" asked Braxiatel, with a roll of his eyes. "She grew up in the wasteland. I dare you to find a better guide than her for this terrain."

"The least we could do is perform a temperature spell," said Narvin, not arguing Braxiatel's point. "It's freezing up here."

Braxiatel rolled his eyes again but muttered an enchantment that created an atmospheric barrier around the two of them. "You're welcome," he said, when Narvin said nothing.

Narvin threw him a withering look as they continued to forge forward. "Why did you drop down next to me?" he asked finally. "You got there right after the blonde one did. Romana, I think was her name?"

"Romana, yes," nodded Braxiatel. "While I admit that she would have made a far more pleasant partner, I had my reasons to wait for you instead."

"Which were what, precisely?" asked Narvin.

Braxiatel smirked. "I know who you are," he said.

Narvin narrowed his eyes at him. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, come on, don't insult me by playing the innocent," said Braxiatel. "I come from Prydon. Deviousness and interference runs in the water, I think. Did you really think that the incident with Glower would be forgotten so easily?"

Narvin stopped dead in his tracks and glared at Braxiatel. "Have care with your next words," he all but snarled.

Braxiatel seemed unperturbed at Narvin's hostility. "Frankly, I don't understand why you would want to be here," he said. "Your skills are wasted at the Academy." Narvin said nothing, but something in his face had given it away because Braxiatel's face burst into a wide smile. "Oh, that's it, isn't it?" he asked, sounding rather happy. "They sent you here, without your permission. That must hurt."

Narvin ignored him and started walking again. They had lost track of Romana and her partner due to the snow starting to come down thicker than ever, so he looked around for an indication of where they might have gone. Braxiatel seemed determined to continue talking, whether Narvin was listening or not.

"Of course, you could always tell the truth of what happened," said Braxiatel. "The people of those village have relatives who mourn their mysterious deaths everyday. And Glower's magic was hardly legal…"

"Don't you ever shut up?" growled Narvin, rounding on him.

"Absolutely never," said Braxiatel cheerfully. "You are going the wrong way, by the way."

"I am certain they went this way," said Narvin.

"I am certain they did not," countered Braxiatel. "It's this way."

"Would you two quit shouting and just follow us?" The two of them turned towards the voice and saw Romana standing a few paces away with her arms crossed.

Braxiatel and Narvin exchanged a look before they started walking towards Romana. Romana rolled her eyes as they got closer, before turning towards Leela who was crouched in the snow, with a contemplative look on her face.

"What is she doing?" asked Narvin.

" _She_ has a name," said Leela irritably. "This way."

"How can you even tell in all this snow?" asked Narvin, yet followed her just the same.

"Leela's sense of direction is impeccable," said Romana, narrowing her eyes at Narvin.

Narvin grumbled under his breath, but as the four of them climbed up the last stretch of the mountain, they arrived at a stonehenge in a clearing on top of the mountain. Unlike the icy winds and swirling snow that they had encountered thus far, the stonehenge appeared to be under a shield, since it was untouched by frost. A different coloured vial of liquid floated above each stone of the structure, emitting a soft glow.

The four initiates looked at each other with varying degrees of triumph and excitement. They strode forward together and reached for their futures as a team.

* * *

"Rather flowery, is it not?" asked Narvin, reading Romana's writing over her shoulder.

"Shut up, Narvin," she said, her tone full of affection in contrast to her harsh words. "End dictation."

The computer beeped as it acknowledged her command. Narvin rolled his eyes, but a small smile flitted on his lips as he walked away. Romana grinned to herself as she saved the file with the story. Being President of Gallifrey left hardly any time to write, but she had truly enjoyed writing this one.

She could not wait to read it to Braxiatel and Leela later.


End file.
